Friday's NBA Game of the Night: Raptors @ Lakers and a +804 Parlay

The Lakers host the Raptors in Los Angeles on Friday and will be hoping for their third straight win without LeBron James, while also looking to hand the Raptors their third straight loss on the road. 

Injuries

Anthony Davis (foot) and D’Angelo Russell (ankle) are both probable for the Lakers tonight, while LeBron James (foot) and Mo Bamba (ankle) are out. Russell has missed the last six games with his injury but is expected to be back in the starting lineup tonight. 

The Raptors injury report is pretty clean except for Will Barton, who is probable to return from an illness. 

Last Meeting

The Raptors won 126-113 way back on Dec. 7 in Toronto and LeBron and AD were both out that night. The Lakers started a G-League lineup of Juan Toscano-Anderson, Thomas Bryant, Dennis Schroder, Austin Reaves and Lonnie Walker in that one, so it’s not surprising they lost. 

The Raptors got 25 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists from Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby scored 23, Scottie Barnes had 13 points and 17 rebounds, and Fred VanVleet scored 25 with seven assists in the win. 

Recent Play

The Lakers have won two straight games and three of their last four behind the strong play of Davis, who is averaging 35.7 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks over his last three games. Schroder has been playing well but should return to the bench tonight with Russell healthy and ready to start. Jarred Vanderbilt, Troy Brown Jr., Malik Beasley, Rui Hachimura and Reaves have all been chipping in with LeBron out with his foot injury, but the key has been the play of Davis. AD has scored 28 or more points in five straight games, and has scored at least 30 in four of those, including his last three.  

The Raptors have lost two straight (@Denver, @Clippers) but both games have been close. Siakam, VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr., Jakob Poeltl and Anunoby have all been contributing for the Raptors and will all factor into tonight’s game. Siakam has scored at least 20 points in five of his last eight games and will need a big game tonight if they’re going to avoid a three-game losing streak. VanVleet scored 25 and 21 points in back-to-back games before struggling with his shot against the Clippers on Wednesday when he hit just 4-of-12 shots for 13 points. VanVleet and Siakam each scored 25 points the last time these teams met and we’re hoping for a repeat performance tonight. 

The Lakers, who are 17-15 at home, have won two straight games against the spread and the Raptors, who are 12-22 on the road, have lost two straight ATS. The Lakers Moneyline has a 4.5% +EV Edge according to the Oddscrowd algorithm and we look for them to take care of business and keep the winning streak alive tonight. 

Pick and Parlay

Pick: Lakers +1.5

Same Game +804 Parlay @ FanDuel

Leg 1: Lakers +1.5

Leg 2: Anthony Davis to score 30+ points

Leg 3: Pascal Siakam to score 20+ points

Leg 4: Fred VanVleet to score 20+ points